S&P futures declined early Friday, indicating a continuation of the significant pullback on Wall Street that has set the major averages on track for weekly losses. S&P 500 futures traded 0.9% lower, while Nasdaq-100 futures fell 1%. Dow futures increased by 703 points, representing a rise of 1.3%. During Thursday’s session, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite experienced declines of 0.9% and 1%, respectively. That pullback resulted in a 1.9% decline for the S&P 500 over the week, while the Nasdaq experienced a 2.5% drop, indicating a potential end to a three-week winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has declined 1.8% week to date, positioning itself for consecutive weekly losses.
The downturn this week also impacted stocks beyond the U.S., with the MSCI All Country World Index on track for a weekly decline of 1.5% — its most significant drop in five weeks. European stocks experienced a slight uptick in early trading on Friday, following a mixed opening across regional bourses and sectors. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was last observed 0.1% higher, while London’s FTSE 100 remained unchanged and Germany’s DAX increased by 0.2%. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 concluded the trading session down by 0.30%, whereas South Korea’s Kospi experienced an increase of 0.88%.
Australia’s benchmark index experienced a decline of 0.27%. Mainland China’s CSI 300 concluded the trading session with an increase of 0.57%. Thursday’s losses occurred as long-dated U.S. Treasury yields continued their upward trajectory, following the government’s unsuccessful attempts to mitigate the recent bond market turmoil, which did not alleviate investor concerns regarding inflation. “Unlike QE via the [Federal Reserve], the Treasury cannot create money to fund asset purchases,” wrote Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi. “Any buybacks must be financed elsewhere, most likely through increased bill issuance or adjustments to other parts of its funding program.”
“In effect, the operation reshapes the maturity profile of debt held by investors rather than reducing the amount of debt markets must absorb. It neither removes the government’s financing needs nor resolves concerns about Treasury supply,” she wrote. Ross Stores shares surged over 7% in after-hours trading following stronger-than-anticipated results for the second quarter.
